Essay: Feminist and Nationalism Ideology – 2018 Midterm Election

John Stuart Mill; a famous influential British philosopher from the nineteenth century was one of the last systematic philosophers who made significant contributions in logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political ideology, and social theory. He was a public figure who articulated on liberal platforms, pushed for various liberal reforms while serving on a seat in parliament. He was greatly admired during his time for his work in theoretical philosophy and political economy. Some of his greatest philosophical influence was in moral and political philosophy, especially towards the defense of liberalism.
To many he is believed to be the father of Utilitarianism. He once stated, “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests” (Mills, John) . As we look at the historic 2018 Midterm Election, we can see how the Feminist and Nationalism Ideology played a role in the different candidate’s platform of 2018. For instance, many of the women candidate who won this election such as: Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ihan Omar and many others rallied their supporter after basing the campaign on feminist ideology.
As many well know, person’s ideology is a closely held set of values and feelings, and it acts as a glass which can be used to see everything and everybody. Since these beliefs are deeply connected to the core of our existence, people often think these beliefs are natural and without a doubt are true. A person ideology is a powerful tool and it can be used to appeal to the ideal women vision of a society where women can establish and achieve political, economic, personal and social equality between both man and women. Thinkers such as Karl Marx believe ideology to be “a set of ideas used as a political tool to achieve hidden goals and interests by distorting social, political realities” (Marx, Karl) .
Everyday a nation’s population political views are constantly shifting when one factor’s in the different circumstances a person may have to endure daily. For instance, a background and circumstance can influence the decisions and views that we as people choose to cling to. Since the human mind and the world is constantly changing our views are constantly evolving and in this 2018 election that was proven to be true. Since our ideology is often affect one’s outlook on the world, this election women from different background enticed their supporters with the belief that everyone is entitled to the same rights to establish educational and professional opportunities regardless of gender and background. These women used the idea of feminism to give women hope that they can be seen as equals in a male dominant world. One particular candidate who stood out this election was Ihan Omar.
Ihan Omar is a Somali refugee, who also happened to be a first-generation Muslim immigrant who won Minnesota 5th congressional District. Ihan Omar and Rashida Tlaib both ran a progressive platform that push women of color to electoral victories across the nation during the 2018 midterm election. With Omar being a woman of Islamic descend it was astonishing to see her target controversial topic this country is currently facing such as Women’s Rights, Gun Violence Prevention strategies, Establishments of Economic Justice for working families, Creation of a just Immigration/ Justice system and etc. Omar was also considered to be unideal candidate because she has publicly identified herself as an Islamic Feminist.
An Islamic Feminist: activist and scholars, including veiled women, who carry out they’re towards women advancement and gender equality within an Islamic discursive framework (Moghadam, Valentine) . Many Islamic feminist believe that the most important key component in contemporary Muslim women’s struggle for rights is they reject the belief that they cannot be both free and equal with men and be good Muslims at the same time. They deny this proposition and instead they believe in the idea that a woman can a true Muslim only after she has achieved both freedom and equality as any individual citizen. Muslim women in our present day and age are claiming the right to freedom and equality as men although it seems as though that goal in near impossible in a male dominant society.
It is not a hidden secret that “social, economic, military, and political failures in postcolonial Arab countries have galvanized reactionary religious responses to Western domination and globalization and the corrupt values they are thought to spread” (Cooke, Miriam) . Many Islamist groups for the Middle-East are still calling for the establishment of an Islamic state governed by Islamic sanctioned by gender norms and values. This posing a threat to the Feminist ideology even though many objects to it’s ideal.
With Ihan Omar winning the election using a feminist background she pushed women to get involved in organized political movement. To many feminists, Feminism is not just a way to push women’s political agenda, it also a frame of mind that points out highlighted gender roles in understanding the organization of a society. Feminism provides the tools for assessing society’s expectations for men and women behavior, which has led to unjust situations, especially when it comes women. Miriam Cooke believes that” Feminism provides a cross-cultural prism through which to identify moments of awareness that something is wrong in the expectations for women’s treatment or behavior, of rejection of such expectations, and of activism to effect some kind of change” .
Being an Islamic woman in the public eye, Omar understood the stigma associated with Feminism and becoming a spokeswoman for women right placed a target on her form her opposing male candidate’s. As the American people are well familiar with the prevailing misogyny in the Islamic Culture, many understand the assigned gender roles that have been traditionally given to women. By being a progressive women of color Omar has re-defined the optics of Islamic women at a time where patriarchal voting patterns among Caucasian-American women are being more scrutinized. For that she has become of a symbol of American Hope and what she describes to be as the “Presidents nightmare” .
Another prevalent form of feminism that caught the nation attention was the Me-Too Movement. This is an online campaign that that supports the survivors of sexual abuse, assault and harassment. which has taken the social media world by storm. This initiative began nearly 10 years ago and has gain the media attention recently over the last couple of months. This movement began to virally spread in October 2017 as a hashtag on social media in an attempt to demonstrate the massive spread of sexual assault and harassment, especially with those in the workplace. Gloria Feldt stated in Time “that many employers are being forced to make changes in response to #Me-Too, for example examining gender-based pay differences and improving sexual harassment policies. Others have noted there has been pressure on companies, specifically in the financial industry, to disclose diversity statistics. ” When this topic came into light during the confirmation hearing, after the case between Brett Kavanaugh V. Blasely Ford, Omar made a publicize show of support towards Blasely Ford. Omar spoke out against Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh agenda stating “We’re going to fight this nomination like our future depends on it—because it does. The next Supreme Court could undo decades of progress—rolling back reproductive freedom, affirmative action and environmental protections. We must organize, fight back and defeat this confirmation”
The topic of sexual harassment has become a dominant topic in American Politics during this Midterm election and with many female candidates on the line it was refreshing to see women like Ihan Omar speak out about this topic.
This movement has help shape women across the nation desire to get involved in politics. During campaign season Attorney General candidate Dana Nessel shot an ad campaign which brought up the issue of sexual misconduct among women. In her campaign ad she is asking voters “Who can you trust most not to show you their penis in a professional setting?”  Her response: the candidate who does not have one. For both republicans and Democrats alike, women voter was watching the candidate’s stance on sexual assault/ harassment scenarios especially after the ruling in the case of the Brett Kavanaugh v. Christine Blasely Ford public scandal. Voter polls reflected that women wanted a candidate that would be sympathetic to the cause and who better to fight for women then a woman.
Another ideology exhibited during this election was Nationalism. The emergence of Nationalism occurred during the sixteenth century inn Western Europe. This ideal was born out of Western European societies trying to shift the world’s position on Economic, Political, and Cultural leadership. The European used this ideal to “culturally unified by Western Christianity, which, independently of nationalism, and for the first time on such a broad scale in history, already began to bring other continents under its sway, thereby initiating the process of cultural, economic, and political globalization.” (Greenfeld, Liah) .